Hoofd van een vrouw 1923

Jean Emile Laboureur made this tiny etching, "Hoofd van een vrouw," and I can just imagine him inking up the plate, wiping it just so, and cranking it through his press. The whole thing is built from lines, like the work of his contemporary Picasso, but Laboureur is interested in something else: the way graphic marks can be used to suggest form. Here, the simplest of marks build up to create a portrait, and the built environment behind her. I can really get a sense of the architectural landscape of the scene! Look how she's sitting! You can see the back of the chair. Is she waiting? Is she bored? I love the blankness of her eyes. Maybe she’s just thinking, like you and me.